The US tech giant seeks to squash an investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog.
This week Reuters reported that Apple has filed an appeal against an investigation launched by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the dominance of its mobile browsers in the cloud gaming market.
The investigation, which the UK antitrust authority launched last November, focuses on concerns about restrictions that Apple and Google allegedly place on cloud gaming and mobile browsers.
The crux of the matter deals with the fact that Apple, as the maker of the iPhone, and Google, as the publisher of the Android mobile operating system (OS), “hold all the cards” when it comes to controlling the mobile browser market.
The charge
The CMA justified the investigation at the time, saying: “Web developers have complained that Apple’s restrictions, combined with suggested underinvestment in its browser technology, lead to added costs and frustration as they have to deal with bugs and glitches when building web pages”.
They added that developers have no choice but to create bespoke mobile apps, while websites could be sufficient as well. US tech giants are drawing increasing attention from competition regulators not just in London, but across the EU, Reuters said.
Lawyers representing Apple said in a notice filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal on Friday that the CMA’s investigation should be reviewed. The notice claims that the CMA missed timing requirements linked to the launch of such an investigation.
CMA stands its ground
The CMA responded to the appeal on Friday, saying it would defend its position and continue to progress its work in line with the statutory timetable.
“We opened this investigation to make sure that UK consumers get a better choice of mobile web services and that UK developers can invest in innovative mobile content and services”, the CMA said in an email statement.
An announcement on the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s website said there is due to be a preliminary hearing on the matter on January 24th.
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